Alpharetta Defeats Douglas County, Advances To Quarterfinals

By Mike Blum

ALPHARETTA, GA -- The 2017 Alpharetta football team went where no Raiders team had gone before, reaching the state AAAAAA quarterfinals for the first time with a 24-21 victory at home Friday night against Douglas County.

The Raiders had reached the second round of the playoffs twice in their first six trips to state, but lost by sizable margins the two times they made it past the first round. For a while Friday night, it looked like the Raiders might win as handily as they lost in their first two second round games. Alpharetta led 17-0 two minutes into the second quarter and had dominated Douglas County to that point.

But a pair of big play touchdowns by the Tigers cut the Raiders’ lead to 17-14 at the half, and Douglas County (10-2) took a 21-17 lead midway through the third period on an interception return. The Raiders (11-1) immeditely responded with a touchdown drive to take a 24-21 lead with 3:38 left in the quarter, and both defenses took over at that point.

The Alpharetta defense limited the Tigers to two first downs on their last three series, with Alpharetta’s big stand coming after Douglas County got the ball at the Raiders’ 41 with 5:30 to play. A penalty pushed the Tigers back into their own territory and the Raiders held the ball for the final 3:50, allowing Douglas County to run a futile final play with less than one second on the clock.

“This is great,” Alpharetta coach said after his team’s unprecedented victory. “I’m proud of the kids. We’ve been through those situations before, and we were prepared for it.”

For the first time since their season opening loss to Milton, the Raiders came up against a talented defensive team possessing both size and speed. Douglas County took away Alpharetta’s ground game other than a handful of keepers on the read/option by quarterback Matthew Downing. The Tigers dared the Raiders to throw the ball, playing single coverage against Alpharetta’s four-and-five receiver sets, with no deep safeties.

Downing made the Tigers pay early, with the Raiders scoring two touchdowns and a field goal on their first three series to take a 17-0 lead. It would have been 21-0, but a wide open Alpharetta receiver dropped a pass in the end zone. The Alpharetta quarterback was 14 of 20 for 218 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, but was intercepted late in the second period with the Raiders leading 17-7 and 25 yards from another score.
The Tigers scored in the final minute to close within 17-14.

Downing ended up 25 of 39 for 336 yards and three scores, including what proved to be the game-
winner, an 8-yard pass to Marcus Hill, who led the Raiders with six catches for 105 yards. Gaddis had four receptions for 87 yards, all in the first quarter. Nolan Edmonds, who was averaging more than 100 yards rushing a game, was held to 17 yards on 11 carries, but had 54 yards receiving on five catches. His 35-yard kickoff return to the Douglas County 48 set up the go-ahead touchdown, with Downing completing five of seven passes on the drive for 49 yards, three to Hill for 32 yards.

The Raiders drove 63 yards on the game’s first series, scoring on a 4-yard pass from Downing to Spencer
Gaddis, whose 28-yard reception to the Douglas County 5 was the big gainer. Gaddis caught passes of 19 and 36 yards and Edmonds went 25 yards with a screen pass as the Raiders drove from their 4 to the Tigers’ 7 before a dropped pass cost Alpharetta a touchdown. The Raiders settled for Dylan Schorr’s 28-yard field goal.

Alpharetta made it 17-0 when Hill caught a 50-yard touchdown pass on the first play after Jaycee Horn
returned a Douglas County punt 17 yards to midfield. Horn left the game early in the third quarter with a leg injury, but the Raiders played outstanding defense without their top player, allowing just two first downs and 49 yards after Horn’s departure.

Nichols said he was not sure about Horn’s availability for Alpharetta’s quarterfinal game against Coffee next week, with the Raiders the host team for the game. Other than two plays, the Raiders played outstanding defense in the first half. Douglas County running back Uriah West broke loose for 83 yards and a touchdown on the first play after Alpharetta took a 17-0 lead, and quarterback Marquise Collins twice evaded pass rushers to connect with Dariyan Wiley for 47 yards and a score with 41 seconds left in the second period.

Apart from those two plays, the Tigers managed just 31 yards in the first half, and Douglas County did not score an offensive touchdown in the second half, finishing with just 257 yards. More than half that total came on the two long scoring plays. West finished with 121 yards rushing on 14 carries, just 38 yards on 13 attempts other than his touchdown. The Tigers completed eight passes for 51 yards, with the Raiders allowing a miniscule 2 yards passing in the second half.

Jack Stanton and Nick Markus both had sacks and Reid Schulz made a big tackle before leveling Collins as
he attempted to throw a desperation pass on the game’s final play. Downing made two big plays on the Raiders’ final drive to help his team keep the Tigers from getting the ball back with a chance to win or tie. With the Raiders facing second-and- 5 from their 15, he hit Luke Estes for 28 yards, and ran for 19 yards and another first down to effectively lock up the victory.

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